STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- After a year of collective bargaining and negotiation, Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton has launched a $7 million retirement pension program for its registered nurses, fulfilling a commitment made in 2008.

The nurses, who are represented by their union, the New York State Nurses Association, have not had any pension security since 2006.

The agreement struck between the hospital administration and the nurses’ union was the result of years of planning and discussion. It will retroactively cover nurses who retired after the divestiture of the former St. Vincent’s Hospital but before the new plan was established.

The plan’s “stand-alone” design covers nurses at RUMC only, and not those at other NYSNA-represented hospitals in the metropolitan area.

“We don’t have any of the unfunded pension liabilities that NYSNA has in their main multi-employer fund, which makes it a much healthier plan for the nurses, something that they can depend upon,” said Richard J. Murphy, the hospital’s president and CEO.

“We did not want to be drawn into [the union’s] pension and have to basically pay for those unfunded liabilities. Those wouldn’t help our nurses,” Murphy added.

The “unfunded liabilities” are the result of the 2008 financial crash that plagued retirement plans across the nation. Murphy estimated that RUMC’s “stand-alone strategy” would save the hospital $1 million.

Members of the hospital administration, union leadership and registered nurses attended a ceremony at which the hospital made its first contribution, worth $2.5 million, to the new pension plan.

Nancy Kaleda, deputy executive director for NYSNA, based in Latham, N.Y., called the union’s relationship with the hospital “respectful.”

“It’s not everyday that you see an employer that’s willing to make the commitment to start up a defined benefit pension plan,” she said, adding that “it was representative of [RUMC’s] commitment and value for the registered nurses.”

Nurse Maureen Sheehy, president of the union’s bargaining unit at RUMC until retiring a month ago, said the nurses at the hospital, who were polled before a final decision was made, were happy with the new plan.

Nurse Carmen Arocho, a grievance chair for the union’s negotiating committee, expressed a similar sentiment.

“This is the culmination of all the hard work ... to get something for the nurses, [some of whom] have been here for 30 or 40 years,” she said.

Richmond University Medical Center, one of the Island’s largest employers, has a staff exceeding 2,000. The hospital will continue to contribute to the new pension fund over the next year. A committee comprising three representatives of the hospital and three representatives of the nurses’ union will oversee the fund.